Transfiguration

As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone who has his eyes on Christ.
–St. Gregory of Nyssa

…Therefore, we do not dwell on the dismal whimper with which the Georgetown Hoyas ended a once-promising season. Maybe we can dwell on the prospect of the injury-hobbled Hokies making an NIT run.

…Every year St. Joseph gets two days, today (March 19) and May 1. On May 1, our Holy Father Pope Benedict will declare his predecessor to be among the blessed in heaven. That will be the day when we can stop praying for the happy repose of John Paul II and start praying to him…

…Here is a homily for the Second Sunday of Lent:

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. (Matthew 17:1-2)

On the second Sunday of every Lent, we read about the ascent of the Lord Jesus, Peter, James, and John up Mount Tabor. The second Sunday of Lent brings precious memories to my mind, because three years ago today, I began a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I got to see Galilee, to climb Mount Tabor, and then make my way to Jerusalem.

When the Lord and his closest apostles went up the mountain, they, too, were beginning a pilgrimage. It was the pilgrimage that faithful Jews made to Jerusalem for the Passover feast.

Baylor Rolls

The Baylor men have made it to the NIT semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Kim Mulkey is out of the hospital.

The Lady Bears advanced in the NCAAs.

Baylor could face Maryland in the Ladies’ Final Four in St. Louis.

…Bill Cosby is pretty funny on Noah, too.

Happy Annunciation Day!

Methinks Thou Dost Protest Too Much

The equinox has come and gone. Easter will arrive after the next full moon!

“Praised be the Lord Jesus Christ!”

“Praised be His Holy Name!”

This is the exchange I had in the middle of Columbia Rd., N.W. at 8:30 this morning.

The brother was wearing a tanktop with “Jesus is Lord” on the back.

Don’t talk to me about basketball, because…

Christ’s Anger, Cardinal Tumi, and N.I.T. Update

We recently touched on the subject of Christ driving the greedy merchants and money-changers out of the Temple.

An alert P. & B. D. reader sent your humble Preacher an excellent book chapter which deals with Christ’s zeal for His Father’s house. Here is how the author explains the anger of Christ:

While sin and ignorance found Him ever compassionate and merciful, irreverence towards God aroused Him to stern and terrible anger, for He saw in it the subversion of the order of truth and justice. –Rev. Edward Leen, In the Likeness of Christ.

Cardinal Tumi

…One of the prelates who has received our Holy Father in Cameroon is the Archbishop of Douala, Christian Cardinal Tumi.

Cardinal Tumi is perhaps the single most impressive human being I have ever encountered in my life.

He came to Washington to speak at our Eucharistic Congress in October of 2000. He has a prodigious mind. He was born and bred to rule. He is truly awesome. Next year he will turn 80.

…I don’t want to jinx anything, but the Hoyas are off to a good start against Baylor–up by nine points after fifteen minutes of play.

Kim Mulkey

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech finally finished off Duquesne after TWO overtimes!

Who says the N.I.T. isn’t cool?

Your servant is obviously pulling for Georgetown over Baylor. But a guy has to admit that the Baylor Ladies’ coach is awfully easy on the eyes.

She is at courtside for the men’s game, and it will be a shame to see her disappointed…

“Playing in the N.I.T. is not an embarrassment.”

–Seth Greenberg, coah of Virginia Tech.
No one is surprised that the Georgetown Hoyas are nowhere to be found in the NCAA brackets.

It is interesting to note that the Hoyas actually beat three of the top twelve seeds in the NCAA tournament (UConn, Memphis, and Syracuse).

On the other hand, three Big East teams that handily defeated Georgetown were not even invited to the N.I.T. (St. John’s, Seton Hall, Cincinnati).

If I were a St. John’s fan, I would be incensed that the Hoyas are in the N.I.T. and the Red Storm are not. After all, St. John’s beat Georgetown twice in eight days, and that was six days ago.

I searched St. John’s fan-blogs to find the justifiable rage. But the ragtag lot of Red Storm fans are resigned to their fate. Their team is going to the College Basketball Invitational.

At the N.I.T., the following could happen, and it would make life livable again:

The Hoyas beat Baylor, then Virginia Teach, then another team, then Davidson, then Notre Dame!

This dream scenario involves delightful re-matches.* It is also highly improbable.

(* Notre Dame beat us on New Year’s Eve. Davidson knocked us out of the NCAA tournament last Easter. Also, a Georgetown-Virginia Tech game would be great.)

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt has an excellent short speech. Benvolio protests that he has drawn his sword only to keep the peace, and the truculent Prince of Cats replies:

What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word,
As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. 1.1.67-68

Well, let me say that I hate the phrase “March Madness.”

The phrase is a crass neologism. It is imprecise. It is inaccurate.

I hate the phrase, like I hate hell, all euphemisms, and Duke.

Baylor almost won the Big 12 Championship